ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday dismissed the petition of a PTI’s activist seeking disqualification of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja.

The petitioner Akram Khan Bari contended in the petition that at the time of his appointment as the CEC, Mr Raja was a serving bureaucrat in BS-22.

He contended that the Supreme Court deciding the petition against a former CEC held that a retired bureaucrat, serving or retired judge of the Supreme Court could have been appointed for the same post.

The petition pointed out that Raja being a serving civil servant was not entitled to be appointed as CEC.

The counsel of the Election Commission of Pakistan on the other hand informed the court that Raja got retired in November 2019, whereas his notification for the CEC was issued on Jan 24, 2020.

He said that at the time of his appointment Raja was not a serving civil servant.

IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq briefly reserved the order and dismissed the petition later on.

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2024